Amos asks a series of rhetorical questions to call Israel out on their idolatry and the consequences that would soon follow. Even though they had ignored every warning given thus far, sometimes the questions God asks us can accomplish more than lengthy lectures that we would just ignore anyway.

1. A well placed question is worth more than any lecture.

2. God always offers a warning and means of escape before judging anyone.

3. Whatever you have in this life is worthless if it doesn’t follow you where you’re ultimately headed.

Abimelech served as an anti-judge and an eerie foreshadowing of the prophetic Antichrist. Yet in spite of this great evil in Israel’s history, God still proved Himself faithful through his life. The only reason a man like him took power was because Israel compromised with idolatry. And the only reason he was taken out of power was because of the promise of His word spoken through Jotham.

1. The offer of peace at the price of truth invalidates both.

2. The only answer to false doctrine is with the truth.

3. The greatest opposition to the church is from within.

Amos’ address to 8 nations draws attention to the things they were about to experience judgment for. With these warnings we see the sort of things God isn’t a fan of, but also how patient God is and continues to be by continuing to warn them rather than just nuking them outright for these things.

1. The Gears of God’s Judgment grind slow but exceedingly fine.

2. Judgment delayed isn’t Judgment denied.

3. God is patient with people we don’t think deserve it too.

Gideon was a man that was used by God to deliver Israel from the oppression of the Midianites. He was also a fallen sinful human being who fell into all the same traps we would were we in his position. The question isn't if we make mistakes, but how do we deal with them and recover than compounding their influence over our lives and those around us?  

1. You'll never please everybody, but you can please God.

2. God is much better at payback than you are.

3. Deal with your sin or your sin is going to deal with you.

Amos begins his prophecy with a reminder of the fact the Lord is still speaking to His people from where He has from the beginning. And that message isn’t a pleasant one. On the verge of judgment, Amos is delivering God’s final warning and last chance before judgment comes to Northern Israel at the hands of the Assyrians.

1. Where God guides, He provides.

2. Be faithful with what is in front of you and He’ll let you know along the way if there’s anything more He wants from you.

3. Never take the blessings of God for granted. They can be taken away.

Gideon's victory against Midian was set up in such a way where no other explanation was possible apart from the intervention of God. Every promise made to Gideon himself was nothing new and had been written in scripture before, yet God met him where he was at and verified it all anyway.

1. Worship focuses on who God is rather than your circumstances.

2. God will always give you reasons to trust Him before asking you to.

3. The best way to verify a word from God is with the Word of God.

Hosea concludes his message with a call for Israel to repent. This wasn’t a command to stop sinning, but recognize God as better than the things they were replacing Him with. That change of mind towards their idols would be all God needs to bless them the way He wants to again.

1. Repentance is a change of mind that produces a change of heart and life.

2. Jesus will only be chosen over the things of this world if He’s recognized as the better option.

3. Idols promise a lot. Only Jesus delivers.

Gideon's pursuit of a miracle from God to confirm what he had already seen God do to verify He was with him reminds us of two things. First, that signs from God are always sent to verify His Word. And second, that God is more patient with us than we give Him credit for.

1. A sign is only useful if it points you in the right direction.

2. God always relates to us on the basis of mercy.

3. If you need a miracle, you'll get one. If you don't have a miracle, you don't need one.

Israel serves as a cautionary tale of what happens when you try to choose both the world and the flesh. The flesh eventually takes over and God won’t be taken advantage of. If we don’t pursue Him daily, something horrible will take the place He intends to have in our lives.

1. There is an appeal to sin.

2. There isn’t much in the middle of the road than yellow streaks and dead skunks.

3. Freedom of choice isn’t freedom from consequence.

The calling of God on our lives is something that is informed through scripture and enabled by Him personally.

1. The Day of the Lord is when God acts.

2. The Christian calling is to demonstrate Jesus' character through the Holy Spirit

3. The Christian life is when God acts through us.